CHAPTER XV
The Escape from Mardonale
"That was a wonderful bluff, Dick!" exclaimed the Kofedix in English assoon as Nalboon and his guards had disappeared. "That was exactly thetone to take with him, too--you've sure got him guessing!"
"It seemed to get him, all right, but I'm wondering how long it'll holdhim. I think we'd better make a dash for the Skylark right now, beforehe has time to think it over, don't you?"
"That is undoubtedly the best way," Dunark replied, lapsing into his owntongue. "Nalboon is plainly in awe of you now, but if I understand himat all, he is more than ever determined to seize your vessel, and everydarkam's delay is dangerous."
The Earth-people quickly secured the few personal belongings they hadbrought with them. Stepping out into the hall and waving away theguards, Seaton motioned Dunark to lead the way. The other captives fellin behind, as they had done before, and the party walked boldly towardthe door of the palace. The guards offered no opposition, but stood atattention and saluted as they passed. As they approached the entrance,however, Seaton saw the major-domo hurrying away and surmised that hewas carrying the news to Nalboon. Outside the door, walking directlytoward the landing dock, Dunark spoke in a low voice to Seaton, withoutturning.
"Nalboon knows by this time that we are making our escape, and it willbe war to the death from here to the Skylark. I do not think there willbe any pursuit from the palace, but he has warned the officers in chargeof the dock and they will try to kill us as soon as we step out of theelevator, perhaps sooner. Nalboon intended to wait, but we have forcedhis hand and the dock is undoubtedly swarming with soldiers now. Shootfirst and oftenest. Shoot first and think afterward. Show no mercy, asyou will receive none--remember that the quality you call 'mercy' doesnot exist upon Osnome."
Rounding a great metal statue about fifty feet from the base of thetowering dock, they saw that the door leading into one of the elevatorswas wide open and that two guards stood just inside it. As they caughtsight of the approaching party, the guards raised their rifles; but,quick as they were, Seaton was quicker. At the first sight of the opendoor he had made two quick steps and had hurled himself across theintervening forty feet in a long football plunge. Before the two guardscould straighten, he crashed into them, his great momentum hurling themacross the elevator cage and crushing them into unconsciousness againstits metal wall.
"Good work!" said Dunark, as he preceded the others into the elevator,and, after receiving Seaton's permission, distributed the weapons of thetwo guards among the men of his party. "Now we can surprise those uponthe roof. That was why you didn't shoot?"
"Yes, I was afraid to risk a shot--it would give the whole thing away,"Seaton replied, as he threw the unconscious guards out into the groundsand closed the massive door.
"Aren't you going to kill them?" asked Sitar, amazement in every featureand a puzzled expression in her splendid eyes. A murmur arose from theother Kondalians, which was quickly silenced by the Kofedix.
"It is dishonorable for a soldier of Earth to kill a helpless prisoner,"he said briefly. "We cannot understand it, but we must not attempt tosway him in any point of honor."
Dunark stepped to the controls and the elevator shot upward, stopping ata landing several stories below the top of the dock. He took a peculiardevice from his belt and fitted it over the muzzle of his strangepistol.
"We will get out here," he instructed the others, "and go up the rest ofthe way by a little-used flight of stairs. We will probably encountersome few guards, but I can dispose of them without raising an alarm. Youwill all stay behind me, please."
Seaton remonstrated, and Dunark went on:
"No, Seaton, you have done your share, and more. I am upon familiarground now, and can do the work alone better than if you were to helpme. I will call upon you, however, before we reach the dock."
The Kofedix led the way, his pistol resting lightly against his hip, andat the first turn of the corridor they came full upon four guards. Thepistol did not move from its place at the side of the leader, but therewere four subdued clicks and the four guards dropped dead, with bulletsthrough their brains.
"Seaton, that is _some_ silencer," whispered DuQuesne. "I didn't supposea silencer could work that fast."
"They don't use powder," Seaton replied absently, all his facultiesdirected toward the next corner. "The bullets are propelled by anelectrical charge."
In the same manner Dunark disposed of several more guards before thelast stairway was reached.
* * * * *
"Seaton," he whispered in English, "now is the time we need your rapidpistol-work and your high-explosive shells. There must be hundreds ofsoldiers on the other side of that door, armed with machine-cannonshooting high-explosive shells at the rate of a thousand per minute. Ourchance is this--their guns are probably trained upon the elevators andmain stairways, since this passage is unused and none of us would beexpected to know of it. Most of them don't know of it themselves. Itwill take them a second or two to bring their guns to bear upon us. Wemust do all the damage we can--kill them all, if possible--in thatsecond or two. If Crane will lend me a pistol, we'll make the rushtogether."
"I've a better scheme than that," interrupted DuQuesne. "Next to you,Seaton, I'm the fastest man with a gun here. Also, like you, I can useboth hands at once. Give me a couple of clips of those specialcartridges and you and I will blow that bunch into the air before theyknow we're here."
It was decided that the two pistol experts should take the lead, closelyfollowed by Crane and Dunark. The weapons were loaded to capacity andput in readiness for instant use.
"Let's go, bunch!" said Seaton. "The quicker we start the quicker we'llget back. Get ready to run out there, all the rest of you, as soon asthe battle's over. Ready? On your marks--get set--go!"
He kicked the door open and there was a stuttering crash as the fourautomatic pistols simultaneously burst into practically continuousflame--a crash obliterated by an overwhelming concussion of sound as theX-plosive shells, sweeping the entire roof with a rapidly-opening fan ofdeath, struck their marks and exploded. Well it was for the little groupof wanderers that the two men in the door were past masters in the artof handling their weapons; well it was that they had in their tinypistol-bullets the explosive force of hundreds of giant shells! For rankupon rank of soldiery were massed upon the roof; rapid-fire cannon,terrible engines of destruction, were pointing toward the elevators andtoward the main stairways and approaches. But so rapid and fierce wasthe attack, that even those trained gunners had no time to point theirguns. The battle lasted little more than a second, being over beforeeither Crane or Dunark could fire a shot, and silence again reigned evenwhile broken and shattered remnants of the guns and fragments of themetal and stone of the dock were still falling to the ground through afine mist of what had once been men.
Assured by a rapid glance that not a single Mardonalian remained uponthe dock, Seaton turned back to the others.
"Make it snappy, bunch! This is going to be a mighty unhealthy spot forus in a few minutes."
Dorothy threw her arms around his neck in relief. With one arm abouther, he hastily led the way across the dock toward the Skylark, choosingthe path with care because of the yawning holes blown into the structureby the terrific force of the explosions. The Skylark was still in place,held immovable by the attractor, but what a sight she was! Her crystalwindows were shattered; her mighty plates of four-foot Norwegian armorwere bent and cracked and twisted; two of her doors, warped andbattered, hung awry from their broken hinges. Not a shell had struckher: all this damage had been done by flying fragments of the guns andof the dock itself; and Seaton and Crane, who had developed the newexplosive, stood aghast at its awful power.
They hastily climbed into the vessel, and Seaton assured himself thatthe controls were uninjured.
"I hear battleships," Dunark said. "Is it permitted that I operate oneof your machine guns?"
"Go as far as you like," re
sponded Seaton, as he placed the womenbeneath the copper bar--the safest place in the vessel--and leaped tothe instrument board. Before he reached it, and while DuQuesne, Crane,and Dunark were hastening to the guns, the whine of gianthelicopter-screws was plainly heard. A ranging shell from the firstwarship, sighted a little low, exploded against the side of the dockbeneath them. He reached the levers just as the second shell screamedthrough the air a bare four feet above them. As he shot the Skylark intothe air under five notches of power, a steady stream of the huge bombspoured through the spot where, an instant before, the vessel had been.Crane and DuQuesne aimed several shots at the battleships, which wereapproaching from all sides, but the range was so extreme that no damagewas done.
They heard the continuous chattering of the machine gun operated by theKofedix, however, and turned toward him. He was shooting, not at thewarships, but at the city rapidly growing smaller beneath them; movingthe barrel of the rifle in a tiny spiral; spraying the entire city withdeath and destruction! As they looked, the first of the shells reachedthe ground, just as Dunark ceased firing for lack of ammunition. Theysaw the palace disappear as if by magic, being instantly blotted out ina cloud of dust--a cloud which, with a spiral motion of dizzyingrapidity, increased in size until it obscured the entire city.
* * * * *
Having attained sufficient altitude to be safe from any possible pursuitand out of range of even the heaviest guns, Seaton stopped the vesseland went out into the main compartment to consult with the othermembers of the group, about their next move.
"It sure does feel good to get a breath of cool air, folks," he said, ashe drew with relief a deep breath of the air, which, at that greatelevation, was of an icy temperature and very thin. He glanced at thelittle group of Kondalians as he spoke, then leaped back to theinstrument board with an apology on his lips--they were gasping forbreath and shivering with the cold. He switched on the heating coils anddropped the Skylark rapidly in a long descent toward the ocean.
"If that is the temperature you enjoy, I understand at last why you wearclothes," said the Kofedix, as soon as he could talk.
"Do not your planes fly up into the regions of low temperature?" askedCrane.
"Only occasionally, and all high-flying vessels are enclosed and heatedto our normal temperature. We have heavy wraps, but we dislike to wearthem so intensely that we never subject ourselves to any cold."
"Well, there's no accounting for tastes," returned Seaton, "but I can'thand your climate a thing. It's hotter even than Washington in August;'and that,' as the poet feelingly remarked, 'is going some!'
"But there's no reason for sitting here in the dark," he continued, ashe switched on the powerful daylight lamps which lighted the vessel withthe nearest approach to sunlight possible to produce. As soon as thelights were on, Dorothy looked intently at the strange women.
"Now we can see what color they really are," she explained to her loverin a low voice. "Why, they aren't so very different from what they werebefore, except that the colors are much softer and more pleasing. Theyreally are beautiful, in spite of being green. Don't you think so,Dick?"
"They're a handsome bunch, all right," he agreed, and they were. Theirskins were a light, soft green, tanned to an olive shade by their manyfervent suns. Their teeth were a brilliant and shining grass-green.Their eyes and their long, thick hair were a glossy black.
The Kondalians looked at the Earthly visitors and at each other, and thewomen uttered exclamations of horror.
"What a frightful light?" exclaimed Sitar. "Please shut it off. I wouldrather be in total darkness than look like this!"
"What's the matter, Sitar?" asked the puzzled Dorothy as Seaton turnedoff the lights. "You look perfectly stunning in this light."
"They see things differently than we do," explained Seaton. "Their opticnerves react differently than ours do. While we look all right to them,and they look all right to us, in both kinds of light, they look just asdifferent to themselves under our daylight lamps as we do to ourselvesin their green light. Is that explanation clear?"
"It's clear enough as far as it goes, but what do they look like tothemselves?"
"That's too deep for me--I can't explain it, any better than you can.Take the Osnomian color 'mlap,' for instance. Can you describe it?"
"It's a kind of greenish orange--but it seems as though it ought not tolook like that color either."
"That's it, exactly. From the knowledge you received from the educator,it should be a brilliant purple. That is due to the difference in theoptic nerves, which explains why we see things so differently from theway the Osnomians do. Perhaps they can describe the way they look toeach other in our white light."
"Can you, Sitar?" asked Dorothy.
"One word describes it--'horrible.'" replied the Kondalian princess, andher husband added:
"The colors are distorted and unrecognizable, just as your colors are toyour eyes in our light."
"Well, now that the color question is answered, let's get going. Ipretty nearly asked you the way, Dunark--forgot that I know it as wellas you do."
* * * * *
The Skylark set off at as high an altitude as the Osnomians could stand.As they neared the ocean several great Mardonalian battleships, warnedof the escape, sought to intercept them; but the Skylark hopped overthem easily, out of range of their heaviest guns, and flew onward atsuch speed that pursuit was not even attempted. The ocean was quicklycrossed. Soon the space-car came to rest over a great city, and Seatonpointed out the palace; which, with its landing dock nearby, was verysimilar to that of Nalboon, in the capital city of Mardonale.
Crane drew Seaton to one side.
"Do you think it is safe to trust these Kondalians, any more than it wasthe others? How would it be to stay in the Lark instead of going intothe palace?"
"Yes, Mart, this bunch can be trusted. Dunark has a lot of darn queerideas, but he's square as a die. He's our friend, and will get us thecopper. We have no choice now, anyway, look at the bar. We haven't anounce of copper left--we're down to the plating in spots. Besides, wecouldn't go anywhere if we had a ton of copper, because the old bus is awreck. She won't hold air--you could throw a cat out through the shellin any direction. She'll have to have a lot of work done on her beforewe can think of leaving. As to staying in her, that wouldn't help us abit. Steel is as soft as wood to these folks--their shells would gothrough her as though she were made of mush. They are made of metal thatis harder than diamond and tougher than rubber, and when they strikethey bore in like drill-bits. If they are out to get us they'll do itanyway, whether we're here or there, so we may as well be guests. Butthere's no danger, Mart. You know I swapped brains with him, and I knowhim as well as I know myself. He's a good, square man--one of our kindof folks."
Convinced, Crane nodded his head and the Skylark dropped toward thedock. While they were still high in air, Dunark took an instrument fromhis belt and rapidly manipulated a small lever. The others felt the airvibrate--a peculiar, pulsating wave, which, to the surprise of theEarthly visitors, they could read without difficulty. It was a messagefrom the Kofedix to the entire city, telling of the escape of his partyand giving the news that he was accompanied by two great Karfedo fromanother world. Then the pulsations became unintelligible, and all knewthat he had tuned his instrument away from the "general" key into theindividual key of some one person.
"I just let my father, the Karfedix, know that we are coming," heexplained, as the vibrations ceased.
From the city beneath them hundreds of great guns roared forth awelcome, banners and streamers hung from every possible point, and theair became tinted and perfumed with a bewildering variety of colors andscents and quivered with the rush of messages of welcome. The Skylarkwas soon surrounded by a majestic fleet of giant warships, who escortedher with impressive ceremony to the landing dock, while around themflitted great numbers of other aircraft. The tiny one-man helicoptersdarted hither and thither, appar
ently always in imminent danger ofcolliding with some of their larger neighbors, but always escaping asthough by a miracle. Beautiful pleasure-planes soared and dipped andwheeled like giant gulls; and, cleaving their stately way through thenumberless lesser craft; immense multiplane passenger liners partiallysupported by helicopter screws turned aside from their scheduled coursesto pay homage to the Kofedix of Kondal.
As the Skylark approached the top of the dock, all the escorting vesselsdropped away and Crane saw that instead of the brilliant assemblage hehad expected to see upon the landing-place there was only a small groupof persons, as completely unadorned as were those in the car. In answerto his look of surprise, the Kofedix said, with deep feeling:
"My father, mother, and the rest of the family. They know that we, asescaped captives, would be without harness or trappings, and are meetingus in the same state."
* * * * *
Seaton brought the vessel to the dock near the little group, and theEarthly visitors remained inside their vessel while the rulers of Kondalwelcomed the sons and daughters they had given up for dead.
After the affecting reunion, which was very similar to an earthly oneunder similar circumstances, the Kofedix led his father up to theSkylark and his guests stepped down upon the dock.
"Friends," Dunark began, "I have told you of my father, Roban, theKarfedix of Kondal. Father, it is a great honor to present to you thosewho rescued us from Mardonale--Seaton, Karfedix of Knowledge; Crane,Karfedix of Wealth; Miss Vaneman; and Miss Spencer. Karfedix DuQuesne,"waving his hand toward him, "is a lesser Karfedix of Knowledge, captiveto the others."
"The Kofedix Dunark exaggerates our services," deprecated Seaton, "anddoesn't mention the fact that he saved all our lives. But for him we allshould have been killed."
The Karfedix, disregarding Seaton's remark, acknowledged theindebtedness of Kondal in heartfelt accents before he led them back tothe other party and made the introductions. As all walked toward theelevators, the emperor turned to his son with a puzzled expression.
"I know from your message, Dunark, that our guests are from a distantsolar system, and I can understand your accident with the educator, butI cannot understand the titles of these men. Knowledge and wealth arenot ruled over. Are you sure that you have translated their titlescorrectly?"
"As correctly as I can--we have no words in our language to express themeaning. Their government is a most peculiar one, the rulers all beingchosen by the people of the whole nation...."
"Extraordinary!" interjected the older man. "How, then, can anything beaccomplished?"
"I do not understand the thing myself, it is so utterly unheard-of. Butthey have no royalty, as we understand the term. In America, theircountry, every man is equal.
"That is," he hastened to correct himself, "they are not all equal,either, as they have two classes which would rank with royalty--thosewho have attained to great heights of knowledge and those who haveamassed great wealth. This explanation is entirely inadequate and doesnot give the right idea of their positions, but it is as close as I cancome to the truth in our language."
"I am surprised that you should be carrying a prisoner with you,Karfedo," said Roban, addressing Seaton and Crane. "You will, of course,be at perfect liberty to put him to death in any way that pleases you,just as though you were in your own kingdoms. But perchance you aresaving him so that his death will crown your home-coming?"
The Kofedix spoke in answer while Seaton, usually so quick to speak, wasgroping for words.
"No, father, he is not to be put to death. That is another peculiarcustom of the Earth-men; they consider it dishonorable to harm acaptive, or even an unarmed enemy. For that reason we must treat theKarfedix DuQuesne with every courtesy due his rank, but at the same timehe is to be allowed to do only such things as may be permitted by Seatonand Crane."
"Yet they do not seem to be a weak race," mused the older man.
"They are a mighty race, far advanced in evolution," replied his son."It is not weakness, but a peculiar moral code. We have many things tolearn from them, and but few to give them in return. Their visit willmean much to Kondal."
* * * * *
During this conversation they had descended to the ground and hadreached the palace, after traversing grounds even more sumptuous andsplendid than those surrounding the palace of Nalboon. Inside the palacewalls the Kofedix himself led the guests to their rooms, accompanied bythe major-domo and an escort of guards. He explained to them that therooms were all inter-communicating, each having a completely equippedbathroom.
"Complete except for cold water, you mean," said Seaton with a smile.
"There is cold water," rejoined the other, leading him into the bathroomand releasing a ten-inch stream of lukewarm water into the smallswimming pool, built of polished metal, which forms part of everyKondalian bathroom. "But I am forgetting that you like extreme cold. Wewill install refrigerating machines at once."
"Don't do it--thanks just the same. We won't be here long enough to makeit worth while."
Dunark smilingly replied that he would make his guests as comfortable ashe could, and after informing them that in one kam he would return andescort them in to koprat, took his leave. Scarcely had the guestsfreshened themselves when he was back, but he was no longer the Dunarkthey had known. He now wore a metal-and-leather harness which was oneblaze of precious gems, and a leather belt hung with jeweled weaponsreplaced the familiar hollow girdle of metal. His right arm, between thewrist and the elbow, was almost covered by six bracelets of atransparent metal, deep cobalt-blue in color, each set with anincredibly brilliant stone of the same shade. On his left wrist he worean Osnomian chronometer. This was an instrument resembling the odometerof an automobile, whose numerous revolving segments revealed a large andconstantly increasing number--the date and time of the Osnomian day,expressed in a decimal number of the karkamo of Kondalian history.
"Greetings, oh guests from Earth! I feel more like myself, now that I amagain in my trappings and have my weapons at my side. Will you accompanyme to koprat, or are you not hungry?" as he attached the peculiartimepieces to the wrists of the guests, with bracelets of the deep-bluemetal.
"We accept with thanks," replied Dorothy promptly. "We're starving todeath, as usual."
As they walked toward the dining hall, Dunark noticed that Dorothy'seyes strayed toward his bracelets, and he answered her unasked question:
"These are our wedding rings. Man and wife exchange bracelets as part ofthe ceremony."
"Then you can tell whether a man is married or not, and how many wiveshe has, simply by looking at his arm? We should have something like thaton Earth, Dick--then married men wouldn't find it so easy to pose asbachelors!"
Roban met them at the door of the great dining hall. He also was in fullpanoply, and Dorothy counted ten of the heavy bracelets upon his rightarm as he led them to places near his own. The room was a replica of theother Osnomian dining hall they had seen and the women were decoratedwith the same barbaric splendor of scintillating gems.
After the meal, which was a happy one, taking the nature of acelebration in honor of the return of the captives, DuQuesne wentdirectly to his room while the others spent the time until the zero hourin strolling about the splendid grounds, always escorted by many guards.Returning to the room occupied by the two girls, the couples separated,each girl accompanying her lover to the door of his room.
Margaret was ill at ease, though trying hard to appear completelyself-possessed.
"What is the matter, sweetheart Peggy?" asked Crane, solicitously.
"I didn't know that you...." she broke off and continued with a rush:"What did the Kofedix mean just now, when he called you the Karfedix ofWealth?"
"Well, you see, I happen to have some money...." he began.
"Then you are the great M. Reynolds Crane?" she interrupted, inconsternation.
"Leave off 'the great,'" he said, then, noting her expression, he tookh
er in his arms and laughed slightly.
"Is that all that was bothering you? What does a little money amount tobetween you and me?"
"Nothing--but I'm awfully glad that I didn't know it before," shereplied, as she returned his caress with fervor. "That is, it meansnothing if you are perfectly sure I'm not...."
Crane, the imperturbable, broke a life-long rule and interrupted her.
"Do not say that, dear. You know as well as I do that between you and methere never have been, are not now, and never shall be, any doubts orany questions."
* * * * *
"If I could have a real cold bath now, I'd feel fine," remarked Seaton,standing in his own door with Dorothy by his side. "I'm no bloomingEnglishman but in weather as hot as this I sure would like to dive intoa good cold tank. How do you feel after all this excitement, Dottie? Upto standard?"
"I'm scared purple," she replied, nestling against him, "or, at least,if not exactly scared, I'm apprehensive and nervous. I always thought Ihad good nerves, but everything here is so horrible and unreal, that Ican't help but feel it. When I'm with you I really enjoy the experience,but when I'm alone or with Peggy, especially in the sleeping-period,which is so awfully long and when it seems that something terrible isgoing to happen every minute, my mind goes off in spite of me intothoughts of what may happen. Why, last night, Peggy and I just huddledup to each other in a ghastly yellow funk--dreading we knew notwhat--the two of us slept hardly at all."
"I'm sorry, little girl," replied Seaton, embracing her tenderly,"sorrier than I can say. I know that your nerves are all right, but youhaven't roughed it enough, or lived in strange environments enough, tobe able to feel at home. The reason you feel safer with me is that Ifeel perfectly at home here myself, not that your nerves are going topieces or anything like that. It won't be for long, though,sweetheart--as soon as we get the chariot fixed up we'll beat it back tothe Earth so fast it'll make your head spin."
"Yes, I think that's the reason, lover. I hope you won't think I'm aclinging vine, but I can't help being afraid of something here everytime I'm away from you. You're so self-reliant, so perfectly at easehere, that it makes me feel the same way."
"I am perfectly at ease. There's nothing to be afraid of. I've been inhundreds of worse places, right on Earth. I sure wish I could be withyou all the time, sweetheart girl--only you can understand just how muchI wish it--but, as I said before, it won't be long until we can betogether all the time."
Dorothy pushed him into his room, followed him within it, closed thedoor, and put both hands on his arm.
"Dick, sweetheart," she whispered, while a hot blush suffused her face,"you're not as dumb as I thought you were--you're dumber! But if yousimply won't say it, I will. Don't you know that a marriage that islegal where it is performed is legal anywhere, and that no law says thatthe marriage must be performed upon the Earth?"
He pressed her to his heart in a mighty embrace, and his low voiceshowed in every vibration the depth of the feeling he held for thebeautiful woman in his arms as he replied:
"I never thought of that, sweetheart, and I wouldn't have dared mentionit if I had. You're so far away from your family and your friends thatit would seem...."
"It wouldn't seem anything of the kind," she broke in earnestly. "Don'tyou see, you big, dense, wonderful man, that it is the only thing to do?We need each other, or at least, I need you, so much now...."
"Say 'each other'; it's right," declared her lover with fervor.
"It's foolish to wait. Mother would like to have seen me married, ofcourse; but there will be great advantages, even on that side. A grandwedding, of the kind we would simply have to have in Washington, doesn'tappeal to me any more than it does to you--and it would bore you toextinction. Dad would hate it, too--it's better all around to be marriedhere."
Seaton, who had been trying to speak, silenced her.
"I'm convinced, Dottie, have been ever since the first word. If you cansee it that way I'm so glad that I can't express it. I've been scaredstiff every time I thought of our wedding. I'll speak to the Karfedixthe first thing in the morning, and we'll be married tomorrow--or rathertoday, since it is past the zero kam," as he glanced at the chronometerupon his wrist, which, driven by wireless impulses from the master-clockin the national observatory, was clicking off the darkamo with an almostinaudible purr of its smoothly-revolving segments.
"How would it be to wake him up and have it done now?"
"Oh, Dick, be reasonable! That would never do. Tomorrow will be mostawfully sudden, as it is! And Dick, please speak to Martin, will you?Peggy's even more scared than I am, and Martin, the dear old stupid, iseven less likely to suggest such a thing as this kind of a wedding thanyou are. Peggy's afraid to suggest it to him."
"Woman!" he said in mock sternness, "Is this a put-up job?"
"It certainly is. Did you think I had nerve enough to do it withouthelp?"
Seaton turned and opened the door.
"Mart! Bring Peggy over here!" he called, as he led Dorothy back intothe girls' room.
"Heavens, Dick, be careful! You'll spoil the whole thing!"
"No, I won't. Leave it to me--I bashfully admit that I'm a regularbear-cat at this diplomatic stuff. Watch my smoke!"
"Folks," he said, when the four were together, "Dottie and I have beentalking things over, and we've decided that today's the best possibledate for a wedding. Dottie's afraid of these long, daylight nights, andI admit that I'd sleep a lot sounder if I knew where she was all thetime instead of only part of it. She says she's willing, provided youfolks see it the same way and make it double. How about it?"
Margaret blushed furiously and Crane's lean, handsome face assumed adarker color as he replied:
"A marriage here would, of course, be legal anywhere, provided we have acertificate, and we could be married again upon our return if we thinkit desirable. It might look as though we were taking an unfair advantageof the girls, Dick, but considering all the circumstances, I think itwould be the best thing for everyone concerned."
He saw the supreme joy in Margaret's eyes, and his own assumed a newlight as he drew her into the hollow of his arm.
"Peggy has known me only a short time, but nothing else in the world isas certain as our love. It is the bride's privilege to set the date, soI will only say that it cannot be too soon for me."
"The sooner the better," said Margaret, with a blush that would havebeen divine in any earthly light, "did you say 'today,' Dick?"
"I'll see the Karfedix as soon as he gets up," he answered, and walkedwith Dorothy to his door.
"I'm just too supremely happy for words," Dorothy whispered in Seaton'sear as he bade her good-night. "I won't be able to sleep or anything!"